While we always aim to help you keep your employees in work if that is their wish, there are occasions when an appointment to offer ill-health retirement advice might be appropriate.

Reasons for early retirement due to ill health can vary widely, but two common ones are:

• Long-term sickness which is preventing an employee from returning to work
• Terminal illness diagnosis

We are highly experienced in supporting the process of ill-health retirement for an employee – and also in advising our clients on what qualifies for ill-health retirement.

Our process

All cases are submitted and tracked through our online portal HealthHub, to provide a clear line all the way from triage to sourcing evidence, and our making formal recommendations.

We will appoint an Independent Registered Medical Practitioner (IRMP) to review the medical evidence provided in the employee’s online medical and occupational health (OH) files – which are stored on HealthHub.

The OH file will include recent reports from our OH physicians, along with supporting evidence from a GP and/or a relevant medical specialist, depending on the medical reason for potential ill-health retirement.

After reviewing the evidence, the IRMP will complete an ill-health retirement certificate to the awarding authority, accompanied by a referral and a report advising whether there is sufficient evidence of permanent incapacity for the employee to continue their role.

Our support

We will be on hand to support you throughout this process and can provide input to resolve internal disputes which may arise from the IRMP’s advice.

We have a dedicated team of 34 dedicated IRMPs, led by pensions specialist Dr Lisa Birrell FFOM.

This team includes a number of specialist Pensions Medical Advisors, who are able to handle ill-health retirement cases independently of occupational health advice.

Watch our HealthHub demo video for a step-by-step guide on how to make a quick-and-easy referral.

>> Find out more about Ill health retirement and pension advice